PAST TENSE SIMPLE

VS.

PAST TENSE CONTINUOUS

The structure of the past tense simple:

Subject + main verb in the past (the 2nd form of the vb)
I wrote my English essay yesterday.
The structure for negative sentences in the past tense simple is:
Subject + auxiliary verb + NOT + main verb (the present form)
DID
I did not write my English essay yesterday.
The structure for question sentences in the past tense simple is:
Auxiliary verb + subject + main verb (the present form).?
Did I write my English essay yesterday?
We use the past simple:

For an action that occurred at a definite time in the past.

He went jogging yesterday.

For repeated actions in the past.

She locked the door and headed for her car.

For habits that are now finished.

He took swimming lessons when he was in middle school.

The time expressions we use with the past simple are: yesterday, then, when, How long
ago?, last night/week/month/year/Friday/October etc, three days/weeks ago etc.

The structure of the past continuous tense:

Subject + auxiliary verb TO BE conjugated in the past tense simple + main verb
was/were
(present participle + ing)
I was watching TV yesterday at 8 oclock.
The structure for negative sentences in the past tense continuous is:
Subject + was/were + NOT + main verb (present participle + ing)
I was not doing the washing-up when you called me.
The structure for question sentences in the past tense continuous is:
Was/were + Subject + main verb (present participle + ing)
Was I doing the washing-up when you called me?

We use the past continuous:

For an action which was in progress when another action interrupted it. We use
the past continuous for the action in progress (the longer action) and the past
simple for the action that interrupted it (shorter action).

We were swimming when it started to rain.

For simultaneous actions in the past

Bill was watching TV in the living room while Tony was having a shower.

To describe the atmosphere and to provide background information to a story.

The birds were singing and the sun was shining as we were walking towards the cabin.
The time expressions we use with the past continuous are: while, when, as, all
morning/evening/day/week etc.